Record Shopping with Cage the Elephant at Rough Trade East

From Deerhunter to NWA, these are Matt Shultz of Cage the Elephant's record shopping picks.

Deerhunter – Fading Frontier

That record, in particular, is just a groundbreaking album. It was groundbreaking when it was released several years ago and it still stands. In my opinion, if it was released today it would be as every bit as highly regarded, which is tough to say about a lot of albums.

Parquet Courts – Wide Awake

I chose that record because it’s a newer punk release which I thought was surprisingly refreshing and yet it embodies all the things we love about late '70s punk and even some really nice notes of other very interesting styles, which to me translate in a very The Clash way. I thought it was a really well-crafted record.

Iggy Pop – The Idiot

It’s one of the albums that David Bowie produced and I’d say it’s one of the lesser known records of Iggy Pop, which is phenomenal. It’s another record that if it was released today, I think it would still be heralded as one of the more groundbreaking albums of our time. It was just extremely ahead of its time, the sonics are great, there’s a lot of drum machines, which was a little bit outside of Iggy Pop's character, but it shows his depth as an artist. He’s not pinned down just to bluesy riff rock, which I can relate to, where people constantly try to throw genre-based titles on you. I love seeing an artist break those rules and follow where the creativity leads. I just love that album.

Joy Division – Closer

I chose that record because it’s a timeless classic. I’m constantly, not chasing after that Joy Division sound, because I don’t think we’ve made anything that sounds like that, but chasing after that atmosphere vibe for sure or the mood that it sets. It’s just an incredible mood, the whole undertone.

Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On

I chose that record because it sounds stunning. It’s incredible. I think just the message behind the entire album as a whole is a message that still very much needs to be heard today.

David Bowie – Lodger

It’s another off the beaten trail kind of album, a lesser known album of David Bowie. it’s one of those albums that helped to shape so many different genres and was also informed by so many different genres. It had an incredible impact on me, you can hear everything from punk rock to glam to new wave, no wave, cold wave, post-punk, there are so many different styles. Again, it was another one of those genre-breaking albums and anytime I hear that I’m definitely drawn to it.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads

That record is incredible, it’s just a great album. His character work really honed in on the narrative and spirit of the record and followed it down. Even to the point that he takes on an actual narrative which I found very interesting and creatively empowering because with all the hang-ups in creativity as far as sincerity and authenticity its nice to know you that you can also go onto shape this fiction and still very much deliver sincerity.

Death Grips – Year of the Snitch

Death Grips to me are one of the most groundbreaking acts of our time. The record is quite old, but again it’s one of those records that is so sonically groundbreaking and so its ahead of its time I think it stands out today and tomorrow and it’s the kind of stuff that I think lean towards more often than not these days.

NWA – Straight Outta Compton

Again, same thing in that time period, most of them are artists today and finding more and more depth.

Cage the Elephant's latest album, Ready To Let Go, is out now. Watch the video for 'Ready To Let Go' below.